Continuing Professional Education in Public Health

Drexel University sign on a campus building

Kick-start or advance your public health career with the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health's continuing education offerings for public health and healthcare professionals.

Learn more about these opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge, and expertise in public health. Many are free or low-cost.

Online Graduate Certificate Programs

Drexel's online graduate certificates in public health are relevant to those at any stage of their career, whether in pursuit of a first job, career change, promotion, or professional development opportunity.

Focus areas of the certificates include Public Health, Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Maternal and Child Health, and LGBTQ Health.

Cost: Tuition per credit depends on the certificate. Special tuition rates available for Drexel alumni, military members, and members of our partner organizations
Time to Completion: Varies from 9 - 18 months
Format: Online
Intended Audience: Anyone with a bachelor's degree, working professionals
Credits: Courses earn graduate credit. Most credits can be rolled directly into a Drexel Dornsife master's program

Learn more about public health certificates

Urban Health Summer Institute

The Drexel Urban Health Collaborative at Dornsife hosts an Urban Health Summer Institute that offers short courses each June.

Past courses have included Introduction to GIS, Introduction to Public Deliberation, Introduction to Bayesian Analysis for Urban Health, and Introduction to Multilevel Analysis for Urban Health Research.

Cost: Most courses are $200-$275 with discounts for groups, early bird registrations, and Drexel students
Length of Courses: Most courses are 3-4 hours
Format: Some courses are in person and some are online
Intended Audience: Courses appropriate for students, alumni, researchers, public health practitioners, and allied professionals
Continuing Education Credits: Most courses earn 1.5 CEU or 15 CPH

Learn more about the Summer Institute

Long-Term Care Micro-Credentials

Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health created fully online public health micro-credentials for staff and managers who work in long-term care facilities, thanks to funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The topics include: Vaccines, Clinical Knowledge in Long Term Care, Emergency Management, and Infection Prevention.

Cost: $1,200
Time to Completion: 12 weeks
Format: Online
Intended Audience: Non-clinicians and clinicians working with/in long-term care facilities.
Credits: Courses earn digital badges to showcase new skills and competencies on LinkedIn and resumes. All micro-credentials have been approved for continuing education credit by several accrediting organizations.

Learn more about Long-Term Care Micro-credentials

Health and Human Rights Advocacy Course

Drexel’s Office of Global Health, in partnership with the non-profit organization Asia Catalyst, developed a free online course.

This course was created to provide tools and strategies to human rights activists, community advocates, grassroots organizers, and global health students in Asia, the United States, and beyond.

Cost: Free
Length of Training: 10 hours
Learning Level: Introductory
Requirements: High-speed internet connection, a computer that can stream videos
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for anyone interested in learning more about human rights advocacy.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center

The federally-funded Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center (MAR-PHTC) is a collaborative project with the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

The Center hosts trainings on topics such as grant writing, program planning, communications, health equity and inclusion, data analytics, and systems thinking. These trainings are meant to strengthen skills and broaden opportunities for public health professionals in the workforce.

Courses and workshops have included Advanced Budgeting, Beginning Equity Conversations, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Project Management for Public Health Professionals, Risk Communication for Public Health, and Online Training Development Rubrics.

Cost: Free
Length of Courses: Varies from 30 minutes to several hours
Format: Most are online or on-demand/self-paced
Intended Audience: Courses appropriate for public health practitioners with varying professional experiences
Continuing Education Credits: Some courses earn CPH/CE credit

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number 1 UB6HP31689-01-00 "Public Health Training Centers" for $3,699,596. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Additional support for this project is provided by Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.

Learn more about MAR-PHTC trainings and courses

Public Health Webinars and Symposia

Dornsife frequently hosts free public health webinars, lectures, and symposia that are open to everyone.

Timely and evolving topics touch on human rights, reproductive health, medical cannabis, structural racism, immigrant health, LGTBQ health, and many more.

Cost: Free
Length of Events: Most are 1 hour long
Format: Some events are in person and some are online
Intended Audience: Faculty, students, alumni, and public health professionals
Continuing Education Credits: Some like the Population Health Spotlight Series earn CPH credit

To learn about upcoming events check out the calendar and subscribe to our school's monthly newsletter.

APHA Course Catalog

The American Public Health Association (APHA) offers on-demand and live public health courses, some of which earn continuing education credits. Browse by category or search for a specific course.

Cost: Varies. APHA members receive a discount on all courses and events.
Length of Courses: Most are a couple of hours
Format: Some are live and some are on-demand/self paced
Intended Audience: Courses appropriate for students, researchers, and public health practitioners
Continuing Education Credits: Some earn CPH/CE credit

Learn more about APHA's digital library

An Introduction to Public Health

Introduction to Public Health Course

Are you interested in studying public health but want to know more before you make an investment?

Register for the Dornsife School of Public Health’s non-credit "Foundations of Public Health: Public Health History, Philosophy and Values" course.

This course provides a broad introduction to public health, as well as an understanding of how specialized health research contributes to achieving the goals of public health.

It consists of short videos taught by Dornsife faculty members Jerry Fagliano, PhD, MPH, Clinical Professor in the Environmental and Occupational Health Department; Jennifer Kolker, MPH, Clinical Professor in the Health Management and Policy Department; and Alexis Roth, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor in the Community Health and Prevention Department.

This course is specifically designed to meet the CEPH Foundational Public Health Knowledge requirement.

Cost: $350
Length of Training: 10 hours, self-paced modules
Learning Level: Introductory
Requirements: High-speed internet connection, a computer that can stream videos, and purchase of a textbook
Intended Audience: This training is appropriate for current and future public health practitioners with varying professional experiences and diverse educational backgrounds.

Free Introduction to Public Health Module

Test drive the "Foundations of Public Health" course with this free, introductory module. In four 15-minute videos, hear from Dornsife professors about the fundamentals of public health: